Lights go out at the Supreme Court

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Photos:Today's Supreme Court

The justices of the US Supreme Court sit for an official photograph on June 1, 2017. In the front row, from left, are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. In the back row, from left, are Elena Kagan, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch.

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Photos:Today's Supreme Court

In 2005, John Roberts was nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor as an associate justice on the US Supreme Court. After Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, Bush named Roberts to the chief justice post. The court has moved to the right during Roberts' tenure, although Roberts supplied the key vote to uphold Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

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Photos:Today's Supreme Court

Anthony Kennedy was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. He is a conservative justice but has provided crucial swing votes in many cases. He has authored landmark opinions that include Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

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Photos:Today's Supreme Court

Clarence Thomas is the second African-American to serve on the court, succeeding Thurgood Marshall when he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1991. Thomas is a conservative and a strict constructionist who supports states' rights.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, she is a strong voice in the court's liberal wing.

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Stephen Breyer was appointed by Clinton in 1994 and is part of the court's liberal wing.

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Samuel Alito was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and is known as one of the most conservative justices to serve on the court in modern times.

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Sonia Sotomayor is the court's first Hispanic and third female justice. She was appointed by Obama in 2009 and is regarded as a resolutely liberal member of the court.

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Elena Kagan is the fourth female justice to ever be appointed, and she is counted among the court's liberal wing. She was appointed by Obama in 2010 at the age of 50. She is the court's youngest member.

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Photos:Today's Supreme Court

Neil Gorsuch is the court's newest member. He was chosen by President Donald Trump to replace Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.

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Washington (CNN)The lights went out in the Supreme Court briefly on Tuesday during oral arguments.

"I knew we should have paid that bill," Chief Justice John Roberts quipped.

Lit only by the sun coming in through the large windows and a bulb on the podium, arguments continued.

Justice Elena Kagan was midway through a sentence with Curtis Gannon, assistant to the Solicitor General, in a case concerning registration for sex offenders.

The lights slowly dimmed until they were completely off. About four minutes later, the lights gradually came back on.

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It's not the first time Roberts has cracked a joke over the Court's lighting.

In 2005, just weeks into his time as chief justice, a light bulb exploded over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she was addressing a lawyer. The light bulb -- 44 feet above her head -- rained down a tiny spray of glass and causing police officers to scramble amid the momentary confusion.